Cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure

ABSTRACT

The present invention discloses a cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure, the cooling system includes plural heat conducting pipes, and a shielding tube included to surround the heat conducting pipes. The heat generated from a heat source placed below the cooling system heats the surrounding fluid (air) and turns it into heated fluid. The heated fluid is lower in density and is dissipated away through convection by the heat conducting pipes, leaves its original space to cooler fluid (at room temperature). The mixing of the heated fluid with the cooler fluid can be prevented by the heat conducting pipes, and the heat convection of the heat source by the cooler fluid is increased. With the implementation of the present invention, the benefits of easy implementing, easy to use, requiring no extra energy and saving costs are achieved, and the heat of the heat source is promptly dissipated away.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to cooling systems, and more particularly, to a cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure.

2. Description of Related Art

Electronic/electrical products and apparatuses are in wide use nowadays, and thus a cooling system is required to maintain the well-functioning of an apparatus in its entirety and components therein. Hence, cooling systems, large and small, intricate and simple, expensive and cheap, are installed in apparatuses which range from space shuttles to lamps with a view to maintaining the well-functioning of the apparatuses and components therein and extending the service life of the apparatuses and components therein.

Heat-generating apparatuses are cooled down nowadays in two ways, namely passive and active. Active cooling systems are driven by external energy through, for example, hydrocooling or fan-based forced convection. Passive cooling systems require no external energy and dissipate heat by radiation or cooling fin-based free convection.

However, the active cooling systems not only incur high operating costs but also pose a serious risk—once the active cooling system malfunctions, the whole apparatus will fail to operate soon, and the apparatus will even break down and cause great economic loss, or will even endanger human life or properties.

Although the conventional passive cooling systems are free from the aforesaid drawbacks of the active cooling systems, the conventional passive cooling systems manifest relatively low efficiency in free convection-based cooling, and their heat dissipation efficiency is usually less than one-tenth of the heat dissipation efficiency of the active cooling systems.

Accordingly, it is imperative for the cooling technology-based industrial sector, the electronic/electrical industrial sector, and even the technological industrial sector to develop a low-cost, low-risk, and high-efficiency cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure, comprising a plurality of flow-guiding pipes coupled together to form the passive heat dissipation structure. The flow-guiding pipes are enclosed collectively by a shielding tube. The cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure has the following advantages: easy to install, easy to use, requires no external energy, and low-cost. Furthermore, the cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure is advantageously characterized in that a hot fluid generated from a heat source fixed to the shielding tube from inside or from below exits the heat source quickly via the passive heat dissipation structure to thereby cool down the heat source quickly.

The present invention provides a cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure, comprising: a shielding tube being an upright hollow-core pipe and having an upper opening facing upward and a lower opening facing downward; and a plurality of flow-guiding pipes fixed to the shielding tube from inside to form the passive heat dissipation structure, wherein the flow-guiding pipes are each a hollow-core pipe with a first opening facing upward and a second opening facing downward, the first opening being higher than the second opening.

The present invention further provides a cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure, comprising a plurality of flow-guiding pipes coupled together to form the passive heat dissipation structure, wherein the flow-guiding pipes are each a hollow-core pipe with a first opening facing upward and a second opening facing downward, the first opening being higher than the second opening.

Implementation of the present invention at least involves the following inventive steps:

1. require no external energy, incur no operating costs; 2. easy to install, easy to use; and 3. enable a hot fluid generated from a heat source to exit the heat source quickly to thereby ensure the functional stability of the heat source and extend the service life thereof.

The features and advantages of the present invention are detailed hereinafter with reference to the preferred embodiments. The detailed description is intended to enable a person skilled in the art to gain insight into the technical contents disclosed herein and implement the present invention accordingly. In particular, a person skilled in the art can easily understand the objects and advantages of the present invention by referring to the disclosure of the specification, the claims, and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view of a cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1B is a top view of the cooling system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view of flow-guiding pipes according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing a position of the flow-guiding pipes;

FIG. 1D is a cross-sectional view of the flow-guiding pipes according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing another position of the flow-guiding pipes;

FIG. 1E is a cross-sectional view of the flow-guiding pipes according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing yet another position of the flow-guiding pipes;

FIG. 2A is a lateral view of another cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2B is a partial cross-sectional view of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2C is a top view of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view of yet another cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of a further cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing the transfer of a hot fluid generated from a heat source;

FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of another cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing the transfer of a hot fluid generated from a heat source;

FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of yet another cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing the transfer of a hot fluid generated from a heat source;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure, including a turbulence structure disposed on the inner surface of a shielding tube, according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a top view of a cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure, including a meshwork disposed at a lower opening of the shielding tube, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1A, in this embodiment, a cooling system 100 with a passive heat dissipation structure comprises a shielding tube 10 and a plurality of flow-guiding pipes 20. The flow-guiding pipes 20 together form a passive heat dissipation structure 20′.

Referring to FIG. 1B, there is shown a top view of the cooling system 100 with a passive heat dissipation structure in this embodiment previously illustrated with FIG. 1A. As shown in FIG. 1B, the flow-guiding pipes 20 are hollow-core pipes arranged inside the shielding tube 10.

Referring to FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, the shielding tube 10 is an upright hollow-core pipe with an upper opening 11 which opens upward and a lower opening 12 which opens downward. The present invention is not restrictive of the shape of the shielding tube 10; and, the shielding tube 10 will function well, provided that the shielding tube 10 is an upright hollow-core pipe. The shielding tube 10 is made of any material as appropriate, for example, a material which is heat-resistant or wearing proof, or a material which is not readily affected and thus damaged by the surroundings, such as moisture.

Referring to FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, the flow-guiding pipes 20 are fixed to the shielding tube 10 from inside to form the passive heat dissipation structure 20′. The flow-guiding pipes 20 are each of a caliber and length less than that of the shielding tube 10.

The flow-guiding pipes 20 each have the first opening 21 facing upward and the second opening 22 facing downward.

Referring to FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, the flow-guiding pipes 20 disposed inside the shielding tube 10 are upright, and thus the first opening 21 is higher than the second opening 22. In practice, a hot fluid H enters the second opening 22 and exits the first opening 21. The structure of the flow-guiding pipes 20 is designed to prevent the hot fluid H leaving the first opening 21 from returning to the vicinity of the second opening 22.

Referring to FIG. 1C through FIG. 1E, the present invention is not restrictive of the position of the flow-guiding pipes 20 inside the shielding tube 10. Referring to FIG. 1C and FIG. 1D, the flow-guiding pipes 20 are fully enclosed by the shielding tube 10. Referring to FIG. 1D, the first openings 21 of the flow-guiding pipes 20 are as high as the upper opening 11 of the shielding tube 10. Referring to FIG. 1E, the flow-guiding pipes 20 protrude from the upper opening 11 of the shielding tube 10.

Referring to FIG. 2A through FIG. 2C, a cooling system 100 with a passive heat dissipation structure comprises a plurality of flow-guiding pipes 20 forming a passive heat dissipation structure 20′. The flow-guiding pipes 20 are each a hollow-core pipe with a first opening 21 facing upward and a second opening 22 facing downward, wherein the first opening 21 is higher than the second opening 22.

Referring to FIG. 2A through FIG. 2C, alternatively, the cooling system 100 with a passive heat dissipation structure consists of the flow-guiding pipes 20 which are coupled together, but are not enclosed by the shielding tube 10, and are still capable of guiding the flow of the hot fluid H.

Referring to FIG. 3A, the flow-guiding pipes 20 are obliquely disposed inside the shielding tube 10 in a manner that the first openings 21 are higher than the second openings 22.

Referring to FIG. 3B, inside the shielding tube 10, some said flow-guiding pipes 20 are upright, whereas the other flow-guiding pipes 20 are oblique, wherein the first openings 21 are higher than the second openings 22.

Referring to FIG. 1A through FIG. 3B, the present invention is not restrictive of the pattern of arrangement of the flow-guiding pipes 20, and the cooling system 100 with a passive heat dissipation structure of the present invention will work, provided that the first openings 21 are higher than the second openings 22, or, in other words, the point of the admission of the hot fluid H into the flow-guiding pipes 20 is lower than the point of the exit of the hot fluid H from the flow-guiding pipes 20.

Referring to FIG. 4, a heat source 30 is fixed to the shielding tube 10 from inside and positioned proximate to the lower opening 12 in a manner that the heat source 30 is not in contact with the shielding tube 10 or the flow-guiding pipes 20, wherein the hot fluid H from the heat source 30 enters the second openings 22 of the flow-guiding pipes 20 and exits the first openings 21 of the flow-guiding pipes 20.

Referring to FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B, the cooling system 100 with a passive heat dissipation structure 20′ is vertically fixed to the heat source 30 from above. Referring to FIG. 5A, the heat source 30 is fixed to the shielding tube 10 from outside and positioned proximate to the lower opening 12, wherein the hot fluid H from the heat source 30 enters the lower opening 12 of the shielding tube 10, enters the second opening 22 of the flow-guiding pipes 20, and exits the first opening 21 of the flow-guiding pipes 20. Alternatively, referring to FIG. 5B, the heat source 30 is fixed to the flow-guiding pipes 20 from below, wherein the hot fluid H from the heat source 30 enters the second opening 22 of the flow-guiding pipes 20 and exits the first opening 21 of the flow-guiding pipes 20.

Referring to FIG. 4 through FIG. 5B, the cooling system 100 with a passive heat dissipation structure enables heat generated from the heat source 30 to be dissipated by the Stack effect as described below. The heat source 30, whose temperature is higher than the ambient temperature of the cooling system 100 with a passive heat dissipation structure, heats up a fluid (i.e., air, in this embodiment) in the vicinity of the heat source 30, such that the fluid gets hotter and thus undergoes density changes. With the hot fluid being of a significantly lower density than the cool fluid, not only does the hot fluid exit the heat source 30 by means of the open tubular structure of the flow-guiding pipes 20, but the cool fluid is also drawn in to occupy the place previously occupied by the outgoing hot fluid. The aforesaid guided fluid convection surpasses natural fluid convection in speed and thus enhances the thermal conductivity of the heat source 30, thereby allowing the heat source 30 to be cooled down efficiently and quickly.

Referring to FIG. 6, a turbulence structure 40 is disposed on the inner surface of the shielding tube 10 and positioned proximate to the lower opening 12 so as to enhance the efficiency of heat dissipation. Due to the turbulence structure 40, turbulence occurs to the fluid on the surface of the heat source 30 to thereby speed up the heat dissipation of the heat source 30 and enhance the heat dissipation efficiency thereof, while the cooling system 100 with a passive heat dissipation structure 20′ is operating.

Referring to FIG. 7, a meshwork 50 is disposed at the lower opening 12 of the shielding tube 10. The meshwork 50 and the turbulence structure 40 have the same purpose, that is, causing turbulence to the fluid on the surface of the heat source 30 to thereby enhance the heat dissipation efficiency of the heat source 30, while the cooling system 100 with a passive heat dissipation structure is operating.

The embodiments described above are intended only to demonstrate the technical concept and features of the present invention so as to enable a person skilled in the art to understand and implement the contents disclosed herein. It is understood that the disclosed embodiments are not to limit the scope of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent changes or modifications based on the concept of the present invention should be encompassed by the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure, comprising: a shielding tube being an upright hollow-core pipe and having an upper opening facing upward and a lower opening facing downward; and a plurality of flow-guiding pipes fixed to the shielding tube from inside to form the passive heat dissipation structure, wherein the flow-guiding pipes are each a hollow-core pipe with a first opening facing upward and a second opening facing downward, the first opening being higher than the second opening.
 2. A cooling system with a passive heat dissipation structure, comprising a plurality of flow-guiding pipes coupled together to form the passive heat dissipation structure, wherein the flow-guiding pipes are each a hollow-core pipe with a first opening facing upward and a second opening facing downward, the first opening being higher than the second opening.
 3. The cooling system of claim 1, wherein the flow-guiding pipes are upright.
 4. The cooling system of claim 1, wherein the flow-guiding pipes are oblique.
 5. The cooling system of claim 1, wherein the flow-guiding pipes are upright or oblique.
 6. The cooling system of claim 2, wherein the flow-guiding pipes are upright.
 7. The cooling system of claim 2, wherein the flow-guiding pipes are oblique.
 8. The cooling system of claim 2, wherein the flow-guiding pipes are upright or oblique.
 9. The cooling system of claim 1, wherein a heat source is fixed to the shielding tube from inside and positioned proximate to the lower opening, wherein a hot fluid from the heat source enters the second opening and exits the first opening.
 10. The cooling system of claim 1, being vertically fixed to a heat source from above, wherein a hot fluid from the heat source enters the lower opening, passes the second opening, and exits the first opening.
 11. The cooling system of claim 2, being vertically fixed to a heat source from above, wherein a hot fluid from the heat source enters the second opening and exits the first opening.
 12. The cooling system of any one of claim 9, wherein a temperature of the heat source is higher than an ambient temperature.
 13. The cooling system of any one of claim 10, wherein a temperature of the heat source is higher than an ambient temperature.
 14. The cooling system of any one of claim 11, wherein a temperature of the heat source is higher than an ambient temperature.
 15. The cooling system of claim 1, wherein a turbulence structure is disposed on an inner surface of the shielding tube and positioned proximate to the lower opening.
 16. The cooling system of claim 1, wherein a meshwork is disposed at the lower opening. 